Can anybody tell me whether or not a free dinner is included in the ticket price in the Duronto Express'. A friend of mine travelling from Jaammu to Delhi has bought tickets in the 12266 Jammu Tawi-Delhi Sarai Rohilla Duronto Express which departs from Jammu Tawi at 7.25 pm, and he was asking me whether he should have his dinner before or after boarding the train, and whether dinner shall be served free-of-cost during the journey itself, as in Rajdhani trains.
Also please let me know which other train(s) have a free-dinner built-in with the ticket price.

Originally Posted by HonestLiarMixed response so far. The railway website suggests that there is no pantry car in the Jammu Duronto.......so I guess I have to agree with Jayashree Amita's post.

Strange so it seems that a super-fact Rajdhani-like non-stop train doesn't have free-meals, but has fares comparable with Rajdhani Express!!

1) Nothing comes free in this world. The charge for the meals is always included within the cost of the ticket. (Rajdhani/Duronto/Shatabdi)
2) This train do not provide meal or drinking water, since it is an overnight train. As per feedback received, no vendors usually come since it is a non-stop train. Thus, it would be better if you carry your own food.
3) Duronto can be classified as a "Rajdhani" type train but has a fare structure completely different from the latter. As per as this train goes:
Class: 1AC/2AC/3AC/Sleeper
A. Base Fare for 578 kms: 1676/1004/650/232
B. Reservation Charges: 35/25/25/25
C. Development Charges: 100/80/60/20
D. Superfast Charges: 50/30/30/20
E. Total: 1861/1139/765/297
F. Total: 1865/1140/765/295 (After Rounding Off)]
The above matches with the fare provided in the official website implying no charge for meal has been added by the concerned Zonal Railway again implying no meal shall be served onboard.
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To know more about rounding off the fares, kindly go through:http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/rai...atoryNotes.pdf

Originally Posted by dipyamanbasu This train do not provide meal or drinking water, since it is an overnight train.

How is it decided which Durontos have food and which don't?

Train 12240 Jaipur-Mumbai Duronto leaves at 7.15 p.m. and travels overnight. It not only served dinner and breakfast but in 1AC the food was the best we have had on any Indian train, and certainly better than the Sealdah-NDLS Rajdhani.

Yes. Zonal Railways are the one taking decision of supplying meal to the passengers. They also decide about the tariff against which the customers should pay for the said meal. (Of-course the base rate has already been fixed. However there is a cushion rate of +/- 7% which lies in the hands of the respective zonal railways.

Originally Posted by dipyamanbasu1) Nothing comes free in this world. The charge for the meals is always included within the cost of the ticket. (Rajdhani/Duronto/Shatabdi)

Certainly yes.

2) This train do not provide meal or drinking water, since it is an overnight train. As per feedback received, no vendors usually come since it is a non-stop train. Thus, it would be better if you carry your own food.

a) What is the source of the feedback, please specify.
b) This train starts from Jammu Tawi at 19.25 hours and runs non-stop upto its destination Sarai Rohilla Station, Delhi where it arrives at 04.00 hours. Technically, since the train starts before dinner time, it should serve dinner to the passengers as in other Duronto trains, and the cost of the meals should be included in the cost of the ticket (please correct me if I'm wrong). Would like to know why this isn't the case.

3) Duronto can be classified as a "Rajdhani" type train but has a fare structure completely different from the latter. As per as this train goes:
Class: 1AC/2AC/3AC/Sleeper
A. Base Fare for 578 kms: 1676/1004/650/232
B. Reservation Charges: 35/25/25/25
C. Development Charges: 100/80/60/20
D. Superfast Charges: 50/30/30/20
E. Total: 1861/1139/765/297
F. Total: 1865/1140/765/295 (After Rounding Off)]
The above matches with the fare provided in the official website implying no charge for meal has been added by the concerned Zonal Railway again implying no meal shall be served onboard.

Thanks, very competent information.
But the question is why haven't they included the cost of meals in the total fare when the train leaves its originating station i.e. Jammu Tawi much before dinner-time. Had dinner and water been served, wouldn't it have been apt for the passengers who, by the way, are paying more than any superfast train doing the same distance. And a Duronto not serving meals and water is by far not the best advertisement for a showpiece-train. Rather, instead of the Jammu-Delhi Duronto, they could have just added another Jammu-Delhi Superfast.

Last not least, are all the other Duronto's having a pantry-car and serving meals to the passengers, or do we have the same sort of structure in some other Duronto's as well. AFAIK, both Howrah as well as Sealdah Duronto's do have pantry-car's on board and do serve meals to the passengers.